§ Tony LloydTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the Government's target time is from application to hearing for appeals concerning industrial injuries disablement benefit diseases; and what the average waiting time has been for those whose appeals are currently being heard. [175717]
§ Mr. PondThis is a matter for Christina Townsend, Chief Executive of the Appeals Service. She will reply to the hon. Member.
Letter from Christina Townsend to Mr. Tony Lloyd dated 27 May 2004:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question regarding the target time for hearing appears concerning Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) diseases and the average waiting time for those whose appeals are currently being heard.
Our target for the 2003–2004 financial year was to hear appeals within an average of 13 weeks from receipt in our Service. Information on waiting times is not available in the format requested but I can advise you that the average waiting time for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit appeals was 15.9 weeks for the 2003–2004 financial year.
I hope that this is helpful.